News

Greencroft residents win rubbish row

A RUBBISH collection service is to be introduced to an area in Salisbury after more than six months of complaints by residents.

When Wiltshire Council’s waste collection went from a weekly to a fortnightly service in March this year, concerns were raised by residents of The Greencroft about the amount of rubbish piling up at a collection point near their homes.

The residents were told they were unable to have a doorstep collection service because there isn’t space to store wheelie bins outside their homes. But the bins at the collection point were often overflowing and the area has also attracted fly-tipping.

Residents from The Greencroft got together in April and gained the support of councillor Paul Sample and the St Edmunds Residents’ Association. The council has no agreed that a doorstep collection service should be run.

Toby Sturgis, cabinet member for waste, said: “The collection service and our recycling contractor have come to the conclusion that they should collect from each property along the footway.

This will do away with the need for the collection point.” Residents are being urged to continue using the existing facilities while the new service is put into place, which the council says will happen “as soon as possible”.

Cllr Sample said: “The collection of waste by Wiltshire Council at The Greencroft has been problematic since there is only a footpath in front of the affected houses. I am delighted that the council has recognised the need to collect from each property, rather than one untidy collection point.

“Hopefully this should now end the problem of fly-tipping in the area of the collection point and there will be less rubbish around. It was a right mess and it needed to be sorted out.”